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Gary Bettman's Stunning Asking Price for NHL Expansion Teams Revealed by Analyst

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 9:19 AM ET

The NHL has been rumoured to be expanding for quite some time, and now, it has been reported just how much it will cost a new franchise to join the league.

For quite some time now, speculation around the NHL is that Commissioner Gary Bettman has been pushing to get the league to 34 teams, with many cities like Atlanta, Quebec City, Houston, Kansas City and even Arizona tabbed as places that could land a brand new NHL franchise.

As of right now, it appears the front runner for a new franchise is Atlanta, who have already butchered both the Flames and the Thrashers, and while nothing is imminent, talks have been consistent in recent times.

Now, NHL Insider Chris Johnston has addressed the potential for expansion, and perhaps the most notable thing that he said was just how much an organization will now have to pay in expansion fees to get a team.

The Vegas Golden Knights expansion cost the organization $500 million while the Seattle Kraken cost $650 million, but according to Johnston, Gary Bettman and the NHL are asking for $2 billion for the next franchise to join the league.

While that's four times the amount of Vegas' number in less than a decade, the business of the NHL is clearly booming, and with the salary cap set to rise and profits doing well, it makes sense for the Commissioner to be asking for more from the potential 33rd team.

It's unclear if this is a holdup for getting another team in the league or if there is simply other business to take care of first, but one thing is for certain, if we ever get a 33rd team in the National Hockey League, they're going to have to prove just how much they want it before they get to the NHL.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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